510 Lacrosse All Over All West Showcase

By Jason Eisenburg, Piedmont Post

San Francisco, CA - 510 Lacrosse sent three teams to the All West Showcase, one for each division, and each team made its mark. 510 Elite came in second in the Platinum division, and was just one goal away from tying the NorCal Ducks in a 4-3 loss on Sunday.

“St. Ignatius is, and has always been, a lacrosse powerhouse” said 510 coach Jerem Stothers who was in charge of the Elite team over the weekend. “They still remain the team to beat.” After 510 took an initial lead, the opposing goalie became a brick wall and was nearly impossible to penetrate. Shot after shot was blocked in the first half and the Ducks finally scored a second goal with 10 seconds left in the half to take a 2-1 lead. The Ducks scored two unanswered fastbreak goals for a quick 4-1 lead in the second half. But Connor Sweeney, Piedmont's premier goalie, didn't let anything else get by him. Robby Inch had a quick goal followed by a rip by Michael Hernandez, but the Ducks held on for a 4-3 win.

Other than the two losses to the Ducks, 510 Elite went undefeated throughout the rest of the tournament. They defeated North Coast Section champions De La Salle in the first game, 6-5, as Sweeney played solid defense and Inch rallied with four goals. “That was a great game,” said Stothers. “Any time you beat East Bay Athletic League competition, it's a sweet feeling.” Piedmont lost to De La Salle in the second round of the NCS playoffs earlier this year. 510 Elite also defeated the former All West champions Purple Lax (Amador Valley High), 12-1.

The 510 Lax Rats came in third in the silver division with a tournament record of 4-1 while Team 510 placed sixth out of a 12 team gold division. “We were the only program to send a team into each divison,” said Stothers. “And with each team had a lot of success.”